The Interior Ministry of Russia has drafted laws that would compel foreigners to sign a “loyalty agreement” prohibiting them from questioning the legitimacy of official policies, casting doubt on the military history of the Soviet Union, or going against conventional family values.
President Vladimir Putin sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022, and since then, Russia has passed a number of strict laws that make it illegal to criticize the military and have sentenced opposition activists to lengthy prison terms.
As the 2024 presidential election approaches, Putin has cast the war as part of an existential battle with the West, saying he will defend Russia’s “sacred” civilisation from what he portrays as the West’s decadence.
The TASS State news agency reported on Wednesday that the draft legislation had been prepared by the interior ministry and would force all foreigners entering Russia to sign an agreement that essentially restricts what they can say in public.
“Interfering with the activities of public authorities of the Russian Federation, discrediting in any form the foreign and domestic state policy of the Russian Federation, public authorities and their officials” is forbidden for foreigners entering Russia, according to TASS.
The proposed agreement would contain provisions pertaining to history, morality, family, and “propaganda about non-traditional sexual relations.”
The act of “distorting the historical truth about the feat of the Soviet people in the defence of the Fatherland and its contribution to the victory over fascism” would be specifically forbidden to foreigners.
According to Russian media reports, it was unclear to which foreign nationals the draft legislation would apply if it became law and what the consequences would be for breaking the “agreement” that would need to be signed upon entering Russia.
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